Lemonade

Summer is here and the days are getting hotter and what better way to cool down than with an ice cold homemade lemonade.

The kids love it and is easy to make, and the best thing about making your own lemonade is that you know what you put in it and have control over how much sugar you use.

I have a healthy lemon tree in my back yard, so I can make freshly squeezed lemonade whenever I want to. This is one of my family's favorite drinks, and its not just the delicious flavor, but also the beautiful lemony smell that fills your home that lets you know summer is here.

Note: I used 3/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup+ 2 tbsp. of Stevia for a low sugar lemonade that is still sweet and refreshing.

Ingredients

2 cups lemon juice

9 cups of water

1 1/2 cups of sugar or (3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup + 2tbsp Stevia)

Instructions

Start by making a simple sugar, in a small saucepan combine 1 cup of water and sugar, bring to a boil and stir to dissolve sugar, remove from heat.

In a pitcher stir together the lemon juice, remaining 8 cups of water and syrup.

Simple Mexican Rice with corn

This rice is so easy to make and goes great with almost anything as a side dish or just on its own. It can also be great finger food for little kids. My 5 year old still likes a big bowl of rice with sliced bananas on it, and my favorite is rice topped with guacamole.

Which ever way you prefer this easy recipe is one that the whole family can enjoy.

Ingredients

1 cup Jasmine or long grain rice

1 tbsp. of olive oil

1/4 cup white chopped onion

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 of chicken broth or water

1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon

3/4 cup sweet yellow corn (optional)

I used Jasmine rice for this recipe, personally I get better results using this rice.

Instructions

In a 3 qt. saucepan saute the onions and the garlic for about a minute over medium high heat. Add the rice and saute for another minute stirring constantly. Add the 1/4 cup tomato sauce and mix until well combined. Lower the heat to low.

Add the water and chicken bouillon and stir, turn the heat back up to medium high, bring to a boil. Once the liquid starts boiling, reduce to low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed and the rice is soft. 10 minutes before the rice is done, you can add the 3/4 cup of corn or you can use mixed vegetables.


Serve with your favorite main dish or enjoy on its own.

Pizza Dough Recipe

Coming up with a dinner recipe has always been a struggle, I have no imagination when it comes to cooking, fortunately there are thousands of recipes out there I can try that a fairly easy to make and don't require too many ingredients.


I rely almost exclusively on Pinterest to find a good dinner recipe and I want to share my experiences trying recipes from Pinterest and other sites.


For a Saturday night I decided to make my own pizza, and found this easy to make pizza dough recipe in a Cuisinart cook book and decided to give it a shot, and I must say I was not disappointed.

You will need an electric mixer with dough hook, or you can always use your hands

Mixing bowls
Pizza stone or tray


Pizza Dough

Makes 1/2 lbs of dough, enough for two 12 inch crusts

1 cup warm water

1 1/2 teaspoons of granulated sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

3 cups bread or all purpose flour, plus additional for dusting

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Toppings

Pizza sauce
 (I like Ragu brand, 28 oz is more than enough)
Mozzarella cheese as desire,
(I usually use about 2 cups of cheese per pizza)
Pepperoni
Onions
Bacon
Other toppings of your choice

Preheat your over at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir together the warm water, sugar and yeast in a missing bowl and let stand until the mixture is foamy and bubbly, about 5 to 10 minutes.

While the yeast is proofing, combine the flour and salt in a separate bowl.

Once the yeast is foamy, add it to the flour and salt mixture, next add the olive oil and mix in an electric mixer on speed 3 using a dough hook, or mix by hand until dough comes together as a ball.

Once dough ball forms, continue to knead on speed 3 for about 4 minutes, or do it by hand. Dough should be smooth and spring back to the touch. If sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until smooth. Alternatively, if dough seems to dry, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time.


Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft free place until double in volume, about 1 hour.


Place dough on a slightly flour surface and form into desire crust size. Place on pizza stone or tray.


Top your uncooked pizza dough with about 8 oz of pizza sauce, more if desired, add cheese and peperoni and cook for about 13 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you are using bacon, chop and cook it before adding it to pizza.

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Pastries are my weakness and I am always looking for a good recipe that is easy to make and delicious at the same time. I love baking and the fact that I am not really good at it doesn't stop me from trying new recipes.

My latest attempt at baking are this delicious cheesecake lemon bars. I like to bake my own desserts not only because is fun but also because I know what ingredients I am using and I can substitute whatever I do not like.

After searching Pinterest and comparing recipes I found the perfect one for me. This recipe is not too sweet and not too acidic, you see to much lemon gives me hart burn and I am not a big fan of lemon flavor in my pastries. The bottom line is that these cheese cake lemon bars are the perfect combination of sweet, tangy and creamy and it was a huge success with the family.

Ingredients

Crust

3/4 cup chilled butter

2 cups of flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup of salt

Cheesecake layer

8 oz. cream cheese softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tbsp. milk

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Lemon layer

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar (You can substitute 1 cup of sugar for 1/2 cup Stevia)

3/4 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup flour

Get the directions here

Cheesecake Lemon Bars

Note: I substituted 1 cup of sugar for the lemon layer with 1/2 cup of Stevia, which is the equivalent of 1 cup of sugar. You can always substitute as much sugar as you like with great results. I have used Swerve before with not so great results.